Alvin Ailey
The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey transformed the U.S. dance scene in the 1960s with his work Revelations, a powerful and moving dance which expresses Black experiences set to gospel music. By the 1980s this dance had been performed more often than Swan Lake. As the founder of the interracial Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1958, Ailey was an important and beloved figure in the establishment of Black artists in the American mainstream. His company was one of the first integrated American dance companies to gain international fame.
Other artists did not always share his vision of Black dance and accused his creations of commercialism. After early success and a stressful career, Ailey's creativity waned in the late 1970s. Manic depression and arthritis undermined his health. He tried to find refuge in drugs, alcohol, and gay bars, and died of an AIDS related disease in 1989. His company continues under the direction of Judith Jamison, a dancer who inspired Ailey's 1971 creation of a dance to honor Black women called Cry.
Alvin Ailey
Dunning, Jennifer. Alvin Ailey. A Life in Dance. New York, Da Capo Press, 1998.